drunk drivers and drag racing. this morning new information on the deadly crash involving a metro bus loaded with passengers. a double dose of panic at one state fair. the trouble that kept emergency crews busy straight ahead. good morning everyone. i'm angie goff. >> i'm richard jordan. welcome to news 4 today. it is saturday, october 20th, 2012. we had storms last night and fog this morning. >> >> we look forward to a wonderful weekend. storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell is standing by with our forecast. >> good morning to both of you and good saturday morning everybody in the news 4 nation this morning. some locally heavy rain producing showers just in time for the commute home last night.

all those you'll be happy to know are now gone from the area and our skies are mostly clear. i can see orion's belt over the sky early this morning as i was driving in. 52 at national airport. 50 in ashburn, virginia. 43 manassas and bristow. 47 waldorf and la plata. 48 in the panhandle of virginia. there it is on radar. ground clutter close to us. first showers out across parts of ohio but i don't think they'll make it over the mountains. clouds will but rain drops not too likely. we're off to a nice, clear start this morning. we'll have what i like to call self-destructive sunshine today. more sun we get the more clouds we'll hook up. we'll start sunny and end cloudy. we'll talk more about the rest of the weekend coming up. >> new information this morning about a deadly crash in prince george's county involving a metro bus. police now say a street race caused a car to crash into the back of a bus on silver lane and sea pleasant. 9:30 last night police say two drivers each in a mercedes-benz were drag racing.

one hit the back of a metro bus and that car burst into flames. the driver of the car died. more than 40 people were on the bus. rescuers took some to the hospital. none were seriously hurt. two people inside the other mercedes-benz are accused of being drunk. one of two prince george's county police officers charged with the beating of a university of maryland student is looking at several years of prison. jurors convicted him of assault late last night but acquittede . news 4's chris gordon has more from the county courthouse in upper marlboro. >> reporter: the jury deliberated six and a half hours and then returned a split verdict. corporal reginald baker found not guilty of second-degree assault. he bowed his head in tears. one of his lawyers put his arm around him. then corporal james harrison found guilty of second-degree assault, not guilty of misconduct in office. harrison showed no emotion. the jury paid close attention to the video of the clash in college park after maryland beat

duke in march of 2010. the jury decided that the first officer corporal reginald baker used legal force hitting student john mckenna but the second police officer who joined in corporal james harrison used excessive force because the student was already on the ground and submissive. john mckenna, the student who was beaten, spoke after the verdict. >> definitely glad that some justice has been done today. it's been a long two years for me and my family, but there was a broader crime committed here and it spans way further than the two cops charged in this trial, so we hope that the department of justice continues their investigation. >> reporter: state's attorney angela brooks whose office prosecuted the two officers and prince george's county police chief mark mcgraw say they are partners in protecting the community. >> we believe tonight the citizens of prince george's county have spoken loudly and clearly that although we

appreciate and really honor the protection that is provided to us that protection must be reasonable and that protection must respect the dignity of every human in this community. >> this police department is resolved to be constitutional and professional and ethical. the trust of the community is pa paramount. >> reporter: the chief says both officers remain on suspension pending a police administrative review. state's attorney angela also brooks said she would not like to see either of the police officers back on the street in uniform. corporal harrison will be sentenced here on december 14th. the conviction of second-degree assault carries with it a maximum penalty of up to ten years. at the prince george's county courthouse, chris gordon, news 4. a 61-year-old woman faces charges for causing a crash that killed an off duty prince george's county police officer. investigators say the accident

killed officer kevin bowden thursday and the woman crossed several lanes of traffic along serac road in clinton. she allegedly cut the officer off sending his cruiser into a utility pole. the woman remains in the hospital. police say officer bowden was speeding and not wearing a seat belt. funeral arrangements have not been announced. new this morning a deadly bus crash involving a bus full of tourists in arizona just a half hour outside of las vegas, nevada. the driver apparently had some kind of medical issue behind the wheel causing it to go off the road near the nevada state line. the driver later died. about 45 passengers were onboard and a few of them were seriously hurt. a tragic end in the search for a young oregon woman who vanished on her way to work. police found whitney hippel's body in a wooded area near portland where she lived. they arrested the 21-year-old's neighbor jonathan holt and charged him with her murder.

she left her apartment early tuesday morning for the starbucks where she worked. earlier this morning we saw that starbucks tweeted we are deeply saddened to learn of whitney's death. whitney, your starbucks family will miss you greatly. today more than a thousand military members will gather at arlington national cemetery to pay tribute to women who died while serving. military women from world war ii all the way to the present are expected to attend. as part of the tribute those who attend will also hold a candlelight march to the cemetery crossing the memorial bridge from the lincoln memorial. this is the 15th year for the event. it can take you a little longer than usual to get around town this morning. several streets are closed right now for the best buddies challenge. the bike ride, foot race, and walk raises money for best buddies international which helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. it all starts at the washington monument. among the streets that are closed right now constitution avenue from 3rd street to 23rd street. pennsylvania avenue between 3rd and 15th streets and

independence avenue from 14th to 23rd streets. you can also be in for some frustrations if you take metro this weekend. expect delays on the red, orange, and green lines all because of track work. on the red line buses will replace trains between grovener and friendship heights. the bethesda and medical center stations will be closed. on the orange line no trains between east and west false church. on the green lines trains will single track between green belt and college park. we're just getting started. good morning, everyone. could one state fair be jinxed? how unfortunate events seem to be a streak of bad luck. peeping tom. how a hidden camera footage led to one man's arrest. tale of two regional home comings today. next how maryland hopes to erase the past and howard celebrates decades of tradition. what are your weekend plans? let us know. maybe send us a message. we are back in a moment. [ minto ] you know, those ads saying mitt romney

would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

breaking news in the district now. police are on the scene of a stabbing near howard university. officers say a man was stabbed

in the stomach. he was apparently attending home coming activities near the school on georgia avenue. rescuers took him to the hospital. police have not said if the victim was a student. we'll keep you updated. >> one of our crews found itself in the middle of a police chase. this all went down yesterday. police say it began when a maryland state trooper noticed a stolen car on the beltway. that chase wound through the streets of southeast d.c. and finally ended when the driver crashed on south capital street and mississippi avenue. officers arrested ron l. blakeney from the baltimore area. they charged him with assaulting a police officer and reckless driving. now to a news 4 exclusive. three teenage girls in prince william county are asking for your help this morning. they hope you can help find the man who robbed them at gun point and sexually assaulted one of them. this is the man police are looking for. the girls were walking home late thursday night near the quantico marine base when he attacked

them. they say he dragged the youngest girl who is just 14 into the woods and assaulted her. the other two got away and called for help. >> i just think it is ridiculous that i have to walk outside at night and be scared or be terrified to come out by my self. this area is more ridiculous by the day and people think it is cute to go ahead and start robbing people. it's not. police have gone door to door and neighborhoods near where the assault took place. they aren't saying whether they turned up any leads. this morning police believe they found the man who broke in and secretly videotaped two women in their homes. michael mckinney of columbia, maryland is suspected of accidently videotaping himself as he set up the camera inside his victims' ellicott city condo. according to police mckinney knew the women and said he took their key and made a copy. he went into the apartment back in june to set up the camera and went back several tim to move it. at one point he accidently recorded himself.

two more victims have also been identified. police in bangladesh are looking into whether a bangladeshi man charged with trying to blow up the federal reserve building in new york has ties to radical groups in their country. officers arrested him this week. the u.s. attorney's office called him one of the most dangerous terrorists the u.s. has seen since 9/11. prosecutors say he had already reached out to others about building a terror cell and nothing was going to stop him. court documents show he considered attacking a military base near baltimore but then he changed his mind because he wanted a target that would cause more devastation. this morning attorneys for the man accused of killing trayvon martin can get a better look at the teen's life before he died. a florida judge says george zimmerman's attorneys can review his phone, school, and other records to learn if he had violent tendencies. zimmerman, who was serving as a

neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed the unarmed teen and maintains he shot him in self-defense. some fair goers in texas got to ride one popular ride a little longer than expected. two dozen people were stranded on one of the tallest rides at the texas state fair last night. the stratus sphere lost power leaving riders in the air for more than two hours. workers eventually manually lowered people to the ground. no one was hurt. the ride will remain closed. >> it just wasn't a good day at the texas state fair. just hours before that a popular fair icon went up in flames. someone shot this video of the giant statue called big tex on fire. it's known to greet people as they come into the fair. firefighters say an electrical issue started the fire and organizers promised to rebuild it for next year. not a lot of fun at the fair. >> not a good year. time right now 6:14. attention target shoppers. the recall alert that may have you cleaning out your closet

this morning. also ahead -- those annoying robocalls. how $50,000 could put an end to them. sweater weather, maybe a coat. chuck's forecast can help you prepare for the saturday outings. he's up next. we went around the country asking women to speak frankly

about something no one wants to talk about. it's time to get real about what happens in the bathroom. stop all the cutesy stuff and start talking about what you really want from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. quilted northern soft and strong is stronger than the leading value brand, to help protect against breakthrough. for myself, for my family, it keeps us clean. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft and strong, protection for a confident clean or your money back. marywe invest in them.umber one in america because but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland. it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you, that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.

we've been keeping our eyes so to speak on the mystery surrounding this enormous eyeball which washed ashore in florida. we can now tell you it came from a large swordfish. marine biologists say a fisherman probably cut it out and threw it into the water and someone walking along the beach spotted it about a week and a half ago. it took a while for scientists to figure out exactly where it came from. here you go. big swordfish. >> too bad. >> that's not nice. >> how is he supposed to see? swimming around the rest of the ocean with the sword pointing at, you know. >> i have an idea that the

fisherman probably kept the fish. >> that is scary. yeah. >> big eye looking back at you. we had a really dreary friday. >> you did. >> i did. >> there were some storms last night. >> there were. >> yeah. >> if you had gone to bed nice and early like me you'd have missed all the rain. >> i went to sleep at 7:00. >> then you missed most of it. >> yeah but yesterday morning was yucky, too. >> i must have missed all the bad weather yesterday. all i saw yesterday was sunshine. i did see the building clouds out on the weekly grocery run yesterday afternoon. but managed to get the ever so clean car home before all the rain drops started. hope you had the same good luck i did. outside for now if you're planning on getting the car washed today not a bad day to do it. although we will have some fairly ominous looking clouds i think building up this afternoon. i don't think they'll do anything in the way of rain production around town. they will look awfully scary at times. some scary great clouds coming our way this afternoon. nothing really to worry about. rain chances are gone everybody.

could still see a few sprinkles way up in the high spots west of the blue ridge later on this afternoon but i think around town today nothing to worry about. 52 now with a mostly clear sky here in washington. winds have gone calm for now. they'll come back around to the west and northwest 8 to 18 miles an hour later this afternoon. mostly in the 40s to the west of washington this morning and mostly in the upper 40s and low 50s to the east out to the chesapeake bay. 47 now in fredericksburg and stafford. 48 in warndsville, west virginia. here is your saturday planner. we have a mostly clear sky for now but this is self-destructive sunshine today. the more sun we get the more clouds we will build up. so we will have a partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, kind of breezy afternoon today. noticeably cooler than yesterday. today's high temperatures will stay in the mid to upper 60s unlike the mid and upper 70s yesterday. so storm 4 radar, there you go. no rain drops too terribly close to us. nearest droms appear across parts of ohio going northwest bound or northeast bound into parts of western pennsylvania. this main area of low pressure

is going to move into portions of southern canada. as it pulls away it will allow the drier air to come on in so partly cloudy to mostly cloudy coming up for today. noticeably cooler than yesterday as well. skies will clear out again overnight tonight into tomorrow and set us up for a nice cool start on your sunday morning and then bright sunshine tomorrow. high pressure building in means great weather coming for the entire upcoming week i think. today morning sunshine but afternoon clouds. kind of breezy at times. temperatures in the 60s. not really much of a rain threat. then for your sunday mostly sunny. a much prettier day to be outside tomorrow. great fall color. highs in the 60s. here's the all important seven-day forecast. 67 today. 68 tomorrow. 66 is an average high temperature. each and every one of those seven high temperatures is at or well above average. so a very mild finish to october coming up. the hokies are on the road in death valley, south carolina taking on the clemson tigers. 65 degrees down there in tiger land today.

if you want to see your game featured, you just need to send the request. who is playing, when they're playing, and where to chuck.bell@nbc uni.com. 15 games. >> holy cow. >> home coming today. >> big game. >> thanks, chuck. speaking of sports robert griffin iii has recovered from his concussion but the injury is hurting the redskins. the nfl fined the team $20,000 for not properly updating the media on rg iii's status during the october 7th game. he left after this hit in the third quarter and doctors later diagnosed him with a mild concussion. head coach mike shanahan had described griffin as being shaken up. also in sports the national league division series isn't over just yet. >> the terps tried to erase last year's big loss to nc state. here is carol maloney with this morning's "sports minute."

good saturday morning. your sports minute begins with baseball. nlcs game five cardinals are one win away from meeting the tigers in the world series but the giants weren't done yet. san francisco puts up a four-run fourth inning including this two-run single by brandon crawford and that was more than enough for starter barry zito. the wylie vet tosses 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball. giants win, 5-0 to force game six on sunday night. how about some college football? fresh off last saturday's win against uva the 4-2 maryland terpins host nc state this afternoon. kickoff at 3:30 p.m. and home coming at fair and college park with a win the terps would improve to 3-0 in the acc for the first time since 1985. elsewhere, big road game for virginia tech as the hokies travel to clemson. virginia takes on wake forest in charlottesville. home coming at howard. bison face morgan state. navy hosts indiana and west

virginia welcomes kansas state to morgantown. that's your "sports minute." i'm carol maloney. have a great saturday. >> as carol just mentioned this is home coming weekend at howard and the football game is just part of the festivities. howard's show time marching band will be performing before the game in the school's annual home coming parade. about 30,000 people will pack the streets. "the washington post" has called it one of the must see events of the year. the home coming party continues tonight with a step show at constitution hall. this morning a recall on hoodies sold at target with high levels of lead. the consumer product safety commission is launching a voluntary recall of fleece hoodies and t-shirts made by the children's apparel network with disney characters snow white, mickey mouse, and cars. the zippers on the products contain high levels of lead. if you have one of these you are

urged to keep them from children and return them for a full refund. talk about a mad dash to find the best deal on the best wedding gown. dozens of brides to be and even a few guys waited all night just to get in on a special grab the gown sale in new york. this annual event offers huge sales from about 800 designer lines of gowns. in just minutes people went from waiting in the cold to trying on the dresses. well, wedding bells this weekend for justin timberlake and jessica biel. the two got married yesterday at a private sea side resort in southern italy. they got engaged last december and have been dating for several years. the newlyweds have kept details quiet but told "people" magazine they were surrounded by their family and friends. i have yet to find her dress on the internet. >> i think it's been very low key because the original report was they were going to get married this weekend and then they pulled a fast one. >> i hear price tag $6.5

million. that's estimated. >> i don't know who your sources are. >> i don't know. those are the rumors. the time right now 6:26. next on news 4 today big changes at airports across the country. why tsa is now removing the controversial body scanners. the huge event going on right now at the national mall. our very own doreen gentzler is up early for this event. we'll take you there live, next.

hi everyone. welcome to news 4 today. i'm richard jordan. >> i'm angie goff. it is saturday, october 20th, 2012. we all want to know about the weather because there are a lot of great outdoor events today. >> let's go to team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. >> good morning to you once again. yes indeed so many things going on today. howard's home coming, i think i

heard you mention maryland's home coming. also great fall color along sky line drive so a million things you could be doing. i think you'll find the weather fairly cooperative. we're off to a quiet start this morning. skies are generally clear right now overhead. temperatures are in the 40s and 50s though. 46 in frederick, maryland. 46 degrees in germantown this morning. 52 in annapolis. 49 down in charlottesville. nothing too close to us on radar. rain drops across parts of ohio and western pennsylvania should be staying clear of us. if you're going up to the mountains of west virginia today you might run into a couple sprinkles but around town mostly sunny start but it will turn into a mostly cloudy, kind of breezy afternoon today. perfect weather for a howard home coming win against morgan state. 67 degrees. a 1:00 kickoff. a nice, northwesterly breeze. good luck to the bison. more college football forecast coming up in a bit. chuck.bel chuck.bell@nbc uni.com. we won't see much of president obama or mitt romney

this weekend. both candidates will keep low profiles as they prepare for their third and final debate monday night in boca raton, florida. >> the next vice president and president of the united states congressman paul ryan and governor mitt romney. country singer john rich introduced romney and running mate paul ryan yesterday at this rally in daytona beach, florida. the republican presidential nominee accused the obama campaign of petty attacks and silly word games. >> the obama campaign has become the incredible shrinking campaign. this is a big country with big opportunities and great challenges and they keep talking about smaller and smaller things. we have big ideas, bold ideas, a strong agenda. we'll get america working again and that is why you're going to help elect the two of us and we'll go to washington and get this country ontrack.

president obama campaigned yesterday in our area and spoke to 10,000 supporters at george mason university and coined a new word. romnesia. >> if you say you'll protect a woman's right to choose but stand up at a primary debate and say you'd be delighted to sign a law outlawing that right to choose in all cases, man you've definitely got romnesia. >> recent polls show the president and mitt romney tied in virginia. >> election day is weeks away but congress is already looking ahead to inauguration day. it just launched a website with information about past inaugurations and the upcoming ceremony which will take place this next yea on january 21st. the site includes audio video and more than 100 new pictures of past inaugurations. a congressional committee is also creating a facebook page with similar information. another major cocaine bust at dulles airport last night the fifth time in as many weeks agents intercept drugs coming in from guatemala. this time customs and border

protection agents seized more than three kilos of cocaine. a street value of up to a million dollars. the drugs were hidden inside belts that were glued together. the investigators say couriers in the cases often do not know what they're transporting. this one was returned to guatemala and barred from re-entering the u.s. for five years. this morning some big developments concerning airport security. those controversial full body scanners are being removed from some major airports. dozens of screeners were fired because of something they didn't do. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: they were initially rolled out as a state-of-the-art upgrade at tsa check points. so-called back scanner machines that used tiny amounts of radiation to search passengers for weapons and explosives. despite assurances from the tsa and the scientific community that the radiation levels are very low and safe many travelers

have remained concerned. >> it's always been an issue for women especially if there are pregnant women going through the body scanners. >> tsa supervisors have also complained to nbc news that the back scatter machines tend to break down causing long delays at check points. tsa announced the scanners are coming out of some major airports and moved to smaller airports. to be replaced by millimeter wave scanners that use radio waves instead of radiation. tsa says it is an effort to assure the eefficient and most effective use of security technology and should speed things along at big tsa check points. at newark airport 52 tsa screeners and managers have been fired or suspended after an internal investigation found they weren't following procedures, screening checked luggage for explosives. >> the only way you're going to fix this is bring in new people immediately. that means supervisors and

managers as quickly as possible. >> reporter: with 50,000 tsa screeners the agency says it has zero tolerance for misconduct. tom costello, nbc news, washington. right now thousands of people are heading to the national mall for the start of the best buddies challenge. >> the bike race, foot race and walk begins at the washington monument this morning and nbc 4 is a proud sponsor. joining us live is our very own doreen gentzler. >> it is early for me. hi, richard and angie. we are keeping our fingers crossed about the weather. it is really nice so far. we do have a lot of people heading down here to the mall for the best buddies event i guess you'd call it. this is and thereony schreiber the founder of best buddy. >> it's going to be great with a 100 mile ride out to virginia, 50 mile ride for people with special needs, 5-k walk, 2500

participants down here on the mall raising money for michael and lauren who are the stars of show. michael came all the way from california and lauren from california. she is the star of the show "glee" and so michael has an incredible job out in a law firm in california. these are great success stories and we're raising money to support people like this. >> how much are you hoping to raise today? >> we hope about 2.5 million and 25 hundred participants. we keep growing it every year. this is our third ride around the country. my sister maria did one up in boston with tom brady and we're adding one in miami, too. >> reporter: you have some pretty famous athletes. >> carl lewis leads our 5-k run, in my opinion the best olympian ever. 20-year supporter. committed big time. helps us enormously. gary hall is another great olympic athlete. a lot of great people but the stars are our buddy participants. buddies are riding 100 miles, 50 miles, walking 5-k, running,

every aspect, giving speeches. michael is going to speak at the opening ceremony. >> reporter: you're speaking and participating in the athletic part, too? wench . >> i'm speaking at opening ceremonies and later on i'm also going to speak of my experience with the jobs program. >> reporter: okay. terrific. >> he's been enormously successful in his employment in california. he's had the same job for how many years? >> about five and a half. >> five and a half years so a great success story and that is what we're trying to build not only our mentoring program but our employment program because financial independence is key to everybody's success and certainly people with special needs. >> you started best buddies in 1989 to do what? >> i started first and foremost to have fun. i was a student at georgetown university. i love being around people with special needs and i thought bringing young people together to learn and be sensitized about the challenges of people with special needs and learn first hand how talented and capable

and successful they can be would be a real joy for young people. i loved it and have been at it ever since. we're all over the world now and impact about 750,000 people a year. >> reporter: it as partnership that works both ways doesn't it. >> huge. we had a great time. we went to washington lee high school yesterday and the whole high school swarmed lauren. and really 16, 17, 18-year-old kids being enthusiastic about someone like lauren, i mean, it a it's a long way in 20 years. >> reporter: a big morning. biking, running, walking. >> you're riding a hundred miles? >> i am going to do the walk with you guys. >> start somewhere. >> right. i hope a lot of people come down and check this out. we'll be here, i guess we leave from here. >> we leave with the hundred miles and have staggered starts for the others. 100 miles, 50, and the 20 mile and then the walk. >> all right. you guys end the day out in

leesburg with a celebration. >> morgan park. sugar ray is going to perform. we have a lot of fun activities so come on out. >> a lot going on down here. a lot of celebrities and celebrity athletes to come down and see. if you are able to come and join us down on the national mall. i'll be back a little later with more. >> all right. i think you can run it. go for it. >> a hundred miles, right? >> i did run last year. i'm rehabbing a busted knee this year. what are you going to do? >> we're rooting for you. >> a tough crowd here. >> okay. thanks so much. a great day ahead. love lauren. >> she loves the camera toonchts she does. she was made to perform. the time right now 6:39. next on news 4 today a do not call list just wasn't enough. the government's new approach to ending the annoying robocalls. >> plus how a kitten got tested on the theory of nine lives.

you're watching news 4 today.

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the "today" show is next on nbc 4. let's find out what they're working on. >> lester holt joins us live from new york. good morning, lester. >> good morning. coming up on a saturday morning here on "today" the presidential candidates are hitting the books today preparing for monday's debate. this morning we'll look at the high stakes of their third and final face-to-face confrontation. also ahead lance armstrong is speaking out for the first time since that damaging doping report came out and since the first time he stepped down as chairman of live strong. hear how he is holding up. and swimming with tigers is a hot attraction at a florida zoo. some call it the adventure of a lifetime while others say it sends the wrong message. we'll let you be the judge. justin timberlake says bye-bye to the single life. we'll have details on his star studded wedding all when we get started on a saturday morning

right here on "today." back to you. >> thanks, lester. the federal trade commission is taking a new approach to getting rid of the unwanted, automated marketing calls otherwise known as robocalls. they're offering a $50,000 reward to the person who creates the best technology to stop consumers from getting those calls. nbc's danielle lee has more. >> reporter: a ringing phone often at dinner time and on the other end one of the last people you want to hear from. >> hello. this is rachel at card holder services. >> reporter: rachel is part of an infamous prerecorded marketing call targeting consumers with often deceptive information. >> it is urgent that you contact us. >> reporter: without a caller's permission these robocalls are illegal but the perpetrators have largely eluded the ftc often ignoring the national do not call list. >> they keep calling you no matter how many times you ask them not to. >> reporter: becca gingrich is one of millions who can't seem to silence her phone. this year alone nearly 4 million people filed complaints with the

ftc. more than twice as many as two years ago. >> changes in technology have made it extremely cheap and easy for people who don't want to follow the law at all. >> reporter: now this ftc attorney says they're asking for help. >> it is going to take bringing kind of unlikely suspects to the table. >> reporter: the ftc is launching a contest with a $50,000 reward for the person who develops the best robo call blocking technology. to get started go to robo call.challenge.gov and submit your idea by january. >> about time. it's our telephone. it seems to me we should have a right to control how it's used. >> reporter: a bit of hope for consumers that this ringing could soon be silenced. you can start submitting ideas thursday. one area consumers won't see relief, however, those political robocalls we often see this time of the year. the ftc can't stop them because they're not considered a sales

call. in washington i'm danielle lee, nbc news. >> wow. $50,000. >> wow. >> i'm tired. rachel and i you would think are having a relationship she leaves so many messages on my machine. delete. >> you never call her back. >> never have. she never leaves a number. anyway we'll talk about your weekend forecast and whether or not it's going to be a good weekend to go out apple picking or leaf peeping, any of that stuff. stuff.

i put them in cookies, cereal, salads, and this is my famous cranberry baked brie. mmm, craisins make this so yummy. you double-dipped. i know -- it's so good. what will the next four years be like? one: the debt will grow from $16 trillion to $20 trillion. two: 20 million americans could lose their employer-based health care. three: taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. four: energy prices will continue to go up.

and five: $716 billion in medicare cuts that hurt current seniors. five reasons we can't afford four more years of barack obama. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. just be happy you don't have to breathe in this air. this was knoxville, tennessee yesterday. a layer of haze settled on to the city. it was actually dust from a dust storm that hit parts of oklahoma a day earlier. the haze in tennessee was so thick many people thought there was a wild fire burning nearby. fortunately, though, meteorologists say the air quality remained good. >> dust storms in oklahoma. do you see a lot of those out

there? >> i never saw much of a true dust storm. the dust bowl back in the '30s i've seen pictures and it was amazing. sometimes dust, you just don't think it adds up to too much. five and six-foot high dirt drifts across much of the plains there so yeah it can happen. i've never had to experience that personally but i've seen awfully windy and dusty days out there. >> well, this weekend a good time to go out and see the leaves. >> you'll like it. good weather for leaf peeping today. plenty of clear skies early on and today we'll end up with an awful lot of cloud cover around. not much of a rain threat for today. that's good news. so if you want the great pictures, sometimes the best pictures of fall foliage are taken under a fairly cloudy sky. you don't end up with too many harsh shadows. i took one on the gw parkway running yesterday. i tweet ted out. if you are one of my twitter followers you probably saw the beautiful orange blaze maple tree alongside the mount vernon path really only a half mile or so from this little spot right here along the g.w. parkway. great day to be outside today.

off to a nice, cool, october start. 52 downtown at national airport. but 46 in montgomery county. 53 over in annapolis. right now 50 degrees at the inner harbor in baltimore. 41 though down across central virginia. culpepper down toward washington, virginia. low 40s there right now. upper 40s down toward charlottesville. for today plenty of clear skies for now but likely, like i said earlier this is self-destructive sunshine. what does that mean? all that cool air riding a northwesterly breeze. you get a little sunshine on that and you start turning on the convection motor. rain chances will stay well off to the west and northwest of us. western pennsylvania eastern ohio. there will be an opportunity for a sprinkle or two west of the blue ridge into the mountains of west virginia. might have a couple random rain drops east of the blue ridge though today not much of anything in the way of a rain threat. cloudy and cooler this afternoon. about a 10-degree drop from

yesterday. this area of low pressure rolling out through parts of the upper midwest will eventually pull away setting the stage for a clearing sky again tonight. high pressure from the west. a warm and dry pattern looks like the whole last week of october. most of the last week of october may be warmer than average. as far as fall color is concerned near peak color far western maryland. good color close in. sky line drive. a lot of pretty yellow around some of the trees in town as well. the best color is still across parts of central p.a. and far western maryland. for today sunshine to get you started but clouds coming in this afternoon. kind of breezy at times. temperatures holding mid to upper 60s today. tomorrow sunny and gorgeous. no complaints at all with your sunday. look at the seven-day forecast. two days in the 60s this weekend and then four days in a row. 70 or higher all the way through the upcoming week. down on the grounds of the university of virginia today. i was corrected by that. it is not the campus but the

grounds of the university of virginia. they're hosting the demon deacons today a 12:30 kick off sunny and nice. 63 degrees there. chuck.bell@nbc uni.com if you want to see your game pictured later on. >> thanks, chuck. >> you're welcome. >> talking about more sports now d.c. playoffs hopes are not completely shot in 2012. next another team that could be headed to the playoffs after today. and this special moment right after this elephant rescue that you just have to wait and see. you're watching news 4 today. stay with us.

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president obama: i'm barack obamthis message.ve... anncr: victims. dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year. a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away. the nationals season might have ended in devastating form last week but d.c. united, they're still playing. >> the washington soccer team is about to make the postseason for the first time in five years. it all has to do, all they have to do is beat or tie columbus today. >> in the net!

welcome to d.c.! >> it's great for our young team to go through this process. games that really mean something. it is great for me, great for a young coach to go through these situations as well. i really look forward to the challenge of them coming into our home and i think we're ready. we'll find out on the weekend. >> they should be more than ready. it's ban miserable postseason drought for one of mls's winningest franchises but the club is playing some of their best ball this season and doing without one of their biggest stars. the captain went out with a knee injury september 11 while playing with the canadian national team. back here in d.c. they respond ed by turning up intensity on defense and committing to activity on offense. the results speak for themselves. since losing the captain the team has rallied to pull off four wins in the draw over the last five games to put them right in the middle of the playoff picture. it could be their first

postseason run since 2007. >> very proud of the guys. they responded in the right way. everybody has given a little bit more. we focused a little more on the defensive side to lock things up. and gave up very few goals in the last five games. >> all of the players picked it up a little bit. and it's just not one player but the whole team putting a little more on their shoulders and i think the guys have done that. >> d.c. split games with the crew earlier this season. both games separated by just a point. but this time d.c. united is back at home where they've been. news 4 sports. >> someone was in the right place at the right time when they heard something cute coming from a storm drain. >> meow! >> there he is right in the water. hold on, buddy. >> a gray kitten somehow wound up in this storm drain in florida. someone called 911 after they

could hear it crying for help. after a little coaxing firefighters lifted the little guy out with a net. once vets checked him out he'll be put up for adoption. >> he is so scared. cute little kitten. and some tense moments for a baby elephant and its mother in kenya. the little one got stuck in a hole and couldn't get out. the nervous mother paced nearby as the two men grabbed a rope and land rover and actually were able, you can see here they pulled the elephant out. this is amazing video. the two of them running toward each other. reunited once again after such an ordeal. i'm glad they had the camera on this one. that was, i mean story book stuff. it's jungle book story book kind of stuff. >> wants a drink of mama's milk right there. mom, where have you been? >> baby was thirsty. >> that's it for news 4 today. we're back in 25 minutes with a local news update. >> join us at 9:00 for a full hour and a half of news. until then have a great day.